The WEEE Directive

The WEEE Directive

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive or WEEE Directive as it is otherwise known was introduced into UK law in January 2007 by the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Regulations 2006.

The aim of the WEEE Directive is to reduce the amount of electrical and electronic equipment being produced and to encourage everyone to reuse, recycle and recover IT products. All sensitive information and computers must be disposed of in a secure manner.

Failure to comply with these regulations could result in the following penalties:
  • Minimum £5,000 fine per prosecution; Maximum unlimited
  • Possible ban from company directorship
  • Civil action from the data subject
  • Costs claimed against your company
  • Possible forced closure of business by the Commissioner's office
Importers, re-branders, manufacturers, sellers and businesses dealing with new electrical or electronic equipment will need to comply with the UK's WEEE regulations to help improve the disposal of electronic goods in the industry.

The regulations help to ensure that less business waste ends up on landfill sites and more is collected separately for treatment and recovery. The WEEE directive also helps to meet recycling targets by making producers rather than end users pay for the treatment and recycling of electronics. In many cases this shift of the costs associated with WEEE disposal from the end user to producers has a significant impact on purchasing and disposal arrangements.

At RecycleIT our processes comply fully with the WEEE directive and are designed to ensure you do too.

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Your responsibilities as a business
If you bought the equipment before 13 August 2005 and are replacing it with new equipment which fulfills the same function then the producer of the new equipment will be responsible for the collection, treatment and recycling of the old equipment regardless of whether or not they were the original manufacturer of the old equipment.

If you bought the equipment before 13 August 2005 and do not replace it then you are responsible for financing and arranging treatment in accordance with the WEEE directive regulations.

If you bought electrical equipment after 13 August 2005 the producer of that equipment is responsible for its collection, recycling and disposal when you decide to dispose of it.

If you lease or rent equipment then the producer is responsible for its disposal.

The WEEE regulations permit businesses and end users to agree “alternative arrangements” where the business user agrees to take on some or all of the future costs when the equipment reaches end of life. This is a commercial buying decision that you may need to make and is likely to form part of the normal negotiating processes for future supply contracts.